AINSLIE BINDER | MANAGING EDITOR
Featured
We’re proud of the opportunity to produce, film, and witness Just Leadership USA’s Close Rikers Campaign in action in 2016. They rallied outside the Borough Halls of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx to pressure Mayor Bill DeBlasio and other key elected officials, to keep the commitment to close down Rikers.
“We don't think you fight fire with fire best; we think you fight fire with water best. We're going to fight racism not with racism, but we're going to fight with solidarity. We say we're not going to fight capitalism with black capitalism, but we're going to fight it with socialism.” - Fred Hampton
In 2017, Why Accountability and other New York activist groups joined together to provide free swipes to commuters in the Bronx, East New York, East Harlem, and other places targeted for fare-beating arrests. Demonstrators repeated to commuters and observing police officers that “Poverty is not a crime”, and that it is entirely legal to offer free swipes to fellow commuters.
Months of work for one end-of-year extravaganza: The Afrofuturist Vampire Dance Party! Last December we celebrated the culmination of 4 years of indie film production to create “Willow: State of Emergency.” It’s from the world of Paul A. Notice II's 2013 play, “Willow.” Watch it now on Amazon Prime!
An exploration of redemption, community, and the deconstruction of American law enforcement’s obsession with gangs, “The Disciple” follows former Gangster Disciple, Rev. Andy D. Williams’ fight against gang database policing in Aurora, IL, and beyond.
Honestly, I think we know by now that it’ll take a combination of things to move forward from this. I’ve been trying to figure out a proper response to George Floyd’s murder - and the subsequent violence against more Black people - while even more Black people die from COVID-19 - and emotionally, I’m spent.
The most I can put my mind to right now is spotlighting community-based solutions that I learn about through my work. One of these, is something that directly relates to every New Yorker RIGHT NOW.
Meet David Whitwell & Felix Del Tredici, a pair of Avant Garde musicians making their way through the New York music scene. What starts out as a simple profile piece for these two, takes us on a journey of Who's Who in the NYC underground's most compelling and prolific musicians.
In this revealing and frank interview, former-gang members & anti-violence activists Vidal Guzman & Chris Williams peel back the layers of prejudice and marginalization to explore the root causes of violence. Cycles of recidivism, systemic abuse, violent over-policing, and self-defense-driven cycles of retaliation uncover a deeper, more complicated story than the classist/racist stereotypes we’re often fed.
Community is key.
I’ve been thinking about Community more often, since editing “Sweet Water” a short doc about Black communal spaces, & as the name implies; a Black commune in Southside Chicago, called “Sweet Water.” Fortunately, some good friends, Alex Antoine & Aaliyah Cristine, introduced me to this place.